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Why are Buddhas bald?

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Anonymous

14y ago
Updated: 8/18/2019

The representations of the Buddha are contemporary representations of a historical figure that never sat for a portrait or photograph. Like Christian depictions of Jesus and the saints they tend to look "like us" and are dressed in idealized cloths and hairstyles "like they'd wear back then" There is no reason to suspect that Asian artisans would not do the same. The baldness may be symbolic of some attribute like a halo or a burning heart in Christian iconography where even the positioning of the fingers have an obscure meaning. Note though that most Buddha figures are shown with hair - except for the "smiling Buddha" often seen in Chinese restaurants which is actually Hotei, a Taoist figure. He's a budai not a Buddha.

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Wiki User

14y ago

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